Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs: Pass a budget - TOBIAS WALL, Belleville News-Democrat

While the treasurer’s office invests state money, it has no formal role in passing a budget. But Frerichs said that hasn’t stopped him from urging lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to come to a deal. One problem Frerichs highlighted was the state’s decision to reneg on handing out Monetary Assistance Program grants to college students because there was no budget in place. To him, a deal’s a deal, and the 130,000 students who were told they would receive grants should not have been left high and dry. “It’s really wrong. We’ve sent letters to these students promising, ‘We’ve got money for you. It’s there.’ And then yank it out in the middle of the school year,” he said. “If we find in January there’s no budget in place, and there’s no MAP grant money coming this year, there’ll be a lot of colleges in the state that say, ‘Sorry, you have to come up with that money yourself.’” http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article51374075.html